VW shut off while driving, rough idle, white smoke
Hi. I have a 1997 VW Cabrio automatic transmission, it was a very rough idle and about
20 seconds after turning the car on (before putting into drive), it got even rougher and then
the RPM went down and the car shut off, no warning lights flashed. I tried to start it again
and it started just fine without the rough idle or anything so I drove it. After driving for
about 5 minutes, the rough idle started again and it shook the car for a minute and then
the oil light came on and the car shut off, I pushed it in to a parking spot and then white
smoke started coming from the center under the hood (not from the radiator area and no
sweet burning smell- not that kind of overheating). I tried to start it and it did turn over but
then turned off much like it did earlier.
I called a tow truck and had them come get the car about an hour after it shut off and of
course it started perfectly for the mechanic. No rough idle or no smoke, nothing! I left it for
about 2 days in the parking spot and fired it up this morning and it worked perfectly. Until
about 5 miles later. Then it did the same thing as the other night and shut off. What is
wrong???!?!
Have the ( IAC ) Idle Air Control valve cleaned or replaced.
Yep sounds like idle control valve to me as well. So has the car smoked more then once since the problems started ? and to your best what did it smell like ? fuel ? maybe burnt oil? it most likely was something that leaked onto your exahaust. Pin pointing the source area would be key, Also this could be a couple of broken exhaust manifold bolts, its not uncommon for them to break off in the older cars. And if you can't find the source of the leak that caused the smoke its your second most likely culprit. Also try looking around for signs of burnt looking wires. some of them may have gotten frayed and started touching things on random occasions
It has not smoked other than that one time (at least since that one night). It did not smell like oil, but I don't have great knowledge of engine smells, other than burnt coolant. Mechanic said he couldnt find anything wrong related to my issue but she was going through coolant really fast. I drove her home (drove fine) and then when I put her in park and let her sit for a minute, the RPM was riding low, I turned on the AC and it wiggled, rough idled, and shut off
well if your loosing antifreeze and you don't see any signs of it leaking you most defiantly have a leak. Crack the oil lid open and check for wateriness or pee like smells from the cap (vw anti freeze smells like pee after its used its weird i know..). If your not loosing it externally good chance it is internally and the likely place to find it is in the oil. If i am correct this car should have a coolant flange on it. These Are the most comman causes of the leaks and coolant isues. The sensor in the flange often will get loose cause as the flange gets old the plastic or rubber gets weak and either starts cracking or letting go of the sensor. Look for signs of antifreeze over your trant at the end of the engine.
Flange should look like this.
